New York Assembly Bill A05843

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/24/25
• Refer: 2/24/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Provides that for New York city uniformed sanitation revised plan members of the New York city employees' retirement system, the service retirement benefit shall not be reduced by the primary social security retirement benefit commencing at age sixty-two.

Summary

A05843 would change the retirement benefit formula for New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) uniformed sanitation members in the revised plan. Under current law, certain service retirement, early retirement, and deferred vested benefits for these Tier 3 sanitation members are reduced by an offset equal to 50% of the member’s primary Social Security retirement benefit beginning at age 62. The bill removes that offset for NYCERS uniformed sanitation revised plan members, so their pension benefits would no longer be reduced by the Social Security-based offset. The bill amends multiple sections of the Retirement and Social Security Law to carve out sanitation members from the offset rules in service retirement, early service retirement, and deferred vested benefit provisions. It also adds a new subdivision stating that the Social Security offset section does not apply to these members when they receive benefits under the affected retirement provisions. A separate provision states that any resulting change in employer contribution rates will not be used in calculating participating employer contribution rates under the cited funding section, and the bill would take effect 60 days after becoming law.

Impact

The bill would directly increase retirement benefits for affected NYCERS uniformed sanitation revised plan members by eliminating the age-62 Social Security offset from their pension calculations. It would amend sections 505, 511, and 516 of the Retirement and Social Security Law, creating a specific exception for this group while leaving the offset in place for other covered police/fire, correction, and investigator revised plan members. The fiscal note indicates the change would increase New York City employer pension contributions and unfunded liabilities, with the cost borne entirely by New York City.

Sentiment

There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history in the provided materials, so there is no direct evidence of debate or formal support/opposition. Based on the bill text and fiscal note, the measure appears to be a targeted benefit enhancement for sanitation workers rather than a broad pension overhaul. The fiscal note’s projected cost increase suggests the bill would likely draw attention to affordability and pension funding concerns, even though the text itself is narrowly focused on one employee group.

Contention

The main point of contention is fiscal impact: the bill would eliminate a pension offset that currently reduces benefits at age 62, which the actuarial note says would raise employer contributions and unfunded liabilities for NYCERS and New York City. Any opposition would likely come from budget or pension-funding stakeholders concerned about increased long-term costs. Support would likely come from sanitation employee advocates and members seeking parity or improved retirement security, since the bill increases benefits for a defined class of workers.